AS evaluation- Question 1

AS evaluation- Question 1 

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

Our genre of film we were issued when we began exploring our media brief was, the thriller genre. The thriller genre follows many key and easily distinguishable conventions. In general the genre appeals to a demographic of thrill seekers, those who find excitement in becoming scared by the action presented on screen. If we are to look at the thriller genre analytically we can see that there are reoccurring elements that help create a highly conventional style of film, these are usually referred to as the 3S', shock, suspense and surprise. In particular, low key lighting, setting of a  destitute and abandoned nature, eerie non diegetic music or heart beat sound effects, extreme close ups, and a variety of other elements are all used to enhance the 3S' and subsequently improve the viewing for the audience.



A use of low key lighting immediately indicates to the audience that the film they are watching fits into the thriller genre. This element of the film is used to present a clear contrast of the areas of dark and light on screen, this contrast can be used to focus the viewer attention onto one specific element of the scene. Low key lighting is used in this particular way within 'Insidious', when the main protagonist is searching through a parallel universe for his son.

Insidious- 'Happy Family Scene'



Insidious- 'Happy Family Scene'

The low key lighting is used to cast shadows and areas of darkness, this in turn creates a mysterious and eerie atmosphere, that subsequently builds tension. In this scene displayed in the image to the right, the protagonist is searching around a dated and dark house within a parallel universe. The scene is only lit with the protagonist’s lantern, paired with the darkness this creates a vast amount of shadow upon the characters displayed. The shadows help to somewhat distort the faces of the characters and intensify the suspense, as the darkness exaggerates their smiles, which present a paradox between the dark and sinister themes the scene is portraying.



A running theme with every film within the thriller genre is that they feature both a protagonist and antagonist; this was first brought to light within Aristotle's narrative theory. Stereotypical a female is usually seen playing the role of a protagonist or victim as they can easily be seen as unaware and vulnerable. It is however important that the character remains realistic so the audience can relate to the character and form an attachment that will later on enhances the audience’s reaction, when the character inevitably is placed in some form of danger. This believability can be achieved through the use of a variety of elements of mise-en-scene. An example of this stereotypical female victim can be seen within the classic 'Here's Johnny' scene from the classic thriller 'The Shining'. Within this scene the female protagonist is hiding behind the bathroom door, holding a knife, in fear of her husband, who is desperately trying to break through the door to harm her. The victim is snowed into the bathroom so the audience is well aware that there is no escape for the character. The audience are left feeling sympathetic towards the character and tense as they await the victim’s fate. As well as this, the characters facial expressions of horror and despair leave the audience helpless and tense as they simply just watch the action unfold before them.



Setting- 'Cabin In The Woods'

The setting of a thriller film is essential as it provides crucial information about the scene and provokes a response from the audience. A setting in its self can also be a good indicator of what genre of film it is, i.e if the film was set in a beautiful park, on a sunny day in the spring time, we could infer that this film would most likely be a romantic comedy, so the viewer could expect the characters to be a couple. In regards to thriller films however, if the viewer were to see an old, dark, abandoned house, they would automatically consider this to be a film within the thriller genre. An example of an extremely conventional thriller setting is displayed within 'cabin in the woods'. The title of the film gives a clear indication as to where the film is likely to be set and as it claims, it is in fact set in a cabin in the woods. The cabin is both completely secluded from any means of connection to basic necessitates, such as emergency services, shops, reception, and the cabin itself is dark, damaged and derelict. With all of this in mind, the setting immediately informs the viewer that the characters are in serious trouble if anything bad happens, as they have no way to call for help. In turn, this leaves the audience extremely tense and nervous as they patiently watch to see what inevitable danger the characters are faced with and can only solve by themselves.







Iconography- knife from the film 'Halloween'

 Iconography is crucial within thriller films especially as it is a great way to immediately build a sense of tension and help emphasise a foreshadowing of what is to come. Conventionally within thriller films it is likely that the iconography of the scene will be something like a murder weapon. For example, within the classic thriller 'Halloween' a knife is presented within the opening scene. The use of the iconography i.e the knife, has had a vast impact upon the film as it forebodes the danger and blood shed to come, whilst building an atmosphere of suspense and tension, as the audience watch on the edge of their seats to witness what the character holding the knife will do next. In addition, within the opening of 'Halloween' the audience are introduced to the female character, however the identity of the character that picks up the knife is concealed. This in turn intensifies the suspense within the audience as they begin to sympathise with the female character, as she is currently unaware that there is someone in her house and approaching her with a knife.



close up- 'The Nightmare on Elm Street'

Cinematography is also fundamental as it also works to provoke a response from the 

audience. In regards to a thriller film there are certain camera angles that are more conventional of this genre than other angles and shots, these include; Hand held camerawork, extreme close ups and long shots. Both a long shots and extreme close ups were featured within the new adaption of the film 'The Nightmare On Elm Street'.

Long Shot- ' The Nightmare on Elm Street'

The long shot helps to make the female victim appear smaller. This is done so that the audience are aware that she is vulnerable and the smallest in status and power within the scene. As well as this, the setting for this long shot is the victims old school; the long shot presents the immediate and unwelcome nostalgia and although the setting is not real and merely a dream state of the female characters, the long shot frames her 

perfectly into the setting, almost reverting her back to her childlike state. The long shot causes the audience to become extremely tense as the female victim become even more powerless and also provokes a sense of empathy toward the female, as the audience witness a vulnerable and exposed feeling most of the audience have been subject to in their lives.





 The use of the extreme close up, allows the audience, not only to clearly see the item displayed, but also to become aware of its importance within the film. The close up image on the right displays the killer scraping his blades against a metal pole. This close up is crucial as it used to display how powerful and lethal the killers 'hands' are, as well as present a clear foreboding of what the killer is about to do to the victim, with the metal work representing her flesh. This close up will therefore make the viewer extremely nervous as they sympathise for the victim and what pain may be imminently inflicted upon her. As well as this, a shallow focus is also featured within this image from the scene, this works well with the close up as the audience are tense with fear of what’s to come and also reminded of the victims presence, through the use of the out of focus silhouette, which intensifies the tense atmosphere as the audience watch, with bated breathes, to find out what will happen to the victim.



'Here's Johnny'- The Shining

Editing styles may be significantly harder to identify, compared to all of the micro elements mentioned above, however this does not mean that it does not build tension and suspense. A jump cut is commonly used within thriller films especially within the most climatic scene, for example, a jump cut is used within 'The Shining' just as the husband axes the door and speaks the famous line, 'here's Johnny!'. The use of the jump cut imitates the viewer’s nervous and tense reaction; as the camera switches to different angles of the scene, this causes the audience's eyes to fleet to a variety of elements, leaving them desperately tense as they are unable to focus on a broad a clear view of the climactic scene. As well as enhancing the tension built a jump cut is also used to speed up the scene, removing the unneeded seconds and getting straight to what the audience wants, the action. In regards to 'The Shining', this increased pace is extremely effective during the axe scene as the audience are inevitably shocked when the axe slices through the door. In turn this particular scene has already succeeded to cover the 3 S'- suspense, shock and surprise, key elements to any successful, conventional thriller film.





In addition, sound can be used within thriller films to enhance tension, aid the portrayal of the narrative, as well as displaying a sense of foreboding. The use of non-diegetic sound within a thriller film can engage an audience whilst the characters on screen may be completely silent. An example of effective non diegetic sound (i.e a soundtrack) could be applied to the car park chase scene with in the famous thriller 'Scream'. The female character is chased by a stranger within the car park looking to kill the female victim. The music correlates perfectly with the scene as it maintains a fast tempo and included a call and response of soprano, eerie notes played by a typically chilling violin, and echoed by orchestral bass notes. The high and low pitched notes connote the manic interaction between the victim and antagonist, portraying how the antagonist is persistent and will follow everyone one of the victims moves, in order to capture and kill the female. The music described gives a voice to the scene, as the characters do not speak. A chase scene within the thriller genre is highly conventional, therefore, by combining these elements, it not only builds a suspenseful atmosphere, and it also reminds the audience that they are watching a thriller film.  Sound can also help to increase the pace of the scene making it more 'jumpy' for the audience, provoking a shocked response from the viewer, leaving them on edge, like any conventional thriller film aims to achieve. This therefore represents how crucial sound is to any thriller film, as in a way it plays the role of a crucial, omniscient character.



From the outset I and my group, consisting of Rishika Sohal and Jemimah Ali, made sure that we had clearly stated what conventions of a thriller film can be recognized within almost every film within this genre. By doing so, this gave us a base foundation to work with, allowing us to progress quickly into creating our media product. Firstly, I and my group decided to set our thriller opening within a forest, although we agreed that it wouldn't be set in the forest for the entire opening, as this would reduce the amount of tension and suspense created by the forest setting. With this in mind we decided to first feature the forest setting during the chase scene, as this is the most climatic scene of our thriller opening and the setting would enhance the audiences feelings of confusion, suspense and tension. The idea of the forest setting is to capture the female victim at her weakest and most vulnerable moment without opening and intensify this by placing her in a vast, unknown setting, making her character seem even smaller, causing the audience to sympathise for her and keep watching, to find out what her fate will be.



In regards to iconography, we had originally mentioned the use of a weapon such a knife; however myself and my group decided that this would be too cliqued. By not displaying any form of weapon to the audience meant that the viewer would question how one of the female victims died and in turn create in their minds the victims cause of death. With a small time bracket of roughly 2 minutes, this meant we saved crucial seconds by letting the audience decide how the victim died and not displaying it clearly instead. As well as this, by not featuring any form of murder weapon this would imply that the antagonist possibly killed the female victim with their bare hands. This idea would be very chilling for the audience as they realise what humans can be capable of and are subsequently shocked.



 We used a mask for the antagonist, to conceal their identity; hidden identity is highly conventional within thriller films, especially in regards to the antagonist. A hidden identity is highly effective because, the audience are in a constant state of confusion as they continuously question who the antagonist is, and what their motives are for wanting kill the female protagonist. Our group decided on the use of a white mask in particular, this was because of two reasons. The first reason being that the white could be easily seen during our prevalent use of low key lighting. The second being that colour white, associated with purity and innocence, could present the connotations that the antagonist is much like any other person in appearance, pure, good in faith, honest etc, however underneath lies a killer, ruthless with a complete lack of 'humanity'.

My group and I made sure we had included a broad range of cinematography in our thriller opening, which we agreed would help to make our opening more engaging and interesting for the audience. For example, our group made sure that we featured more than one point of view shots as we recognised that these were highly conventional, allowing the audience to be a part of the scene and immerse themselves within the action. The first time a point of view shot is featured within our thriller opening is when Shona, playing the first female victim, approached the 'dead' body of the antagonist.

The camera angle-

Shona/ female victim's Point of View Shot

only allows the audience to view the female protagonist feet whilst she walks, meaning that they cannot view the antagonist and his immediate response to the female victim. In turn, by reducing the amount the audience can see within the scene provokes tension and suspense as they are unaware of what exactly is going on, and causes them to create the action in their head. Also the use of a point of view shot helps the audience to put themselves in the position of the victim, creating a stronger audience and character bond, which means that the viewer is likely to be more sympathetic as they are placed in the characters position and developed a form of understanding for what the female victim is going through. A point of view shot is also feature with the chase scene in the forest. This shot was used to place the audience in the female victim’s position and make them feel more tense and scared as they feel as though they are running themselves.





Editing styles may be hard to distinguish, however they are crucial, this is why our group decided that we would a few particular techniques to make our opening thriller interesting and engaging for the audience. An example of the techniques we used could be, the reaction shot featured towards the end of our opening thriller, when josie, playing the remaining female victim, spots the antagonist and screams in both shock and horror. The reaction shot allowed the audience to witness the full extent of the victims desperation and despair, leaving them on the edge of their seats as they are urging the scene to continue, so they can find out exactly what happens to the female victim they have grown attached to.

As sound is extremely important to films of the thriller genre, myself and my group felt that it was easy to make our thriller opening more conventional simply by adding music to the scenes. To introduce our thriller opening we used a combination of contrapuntal sounds. For example, during the flash back at the very beginning the sounds of children singing merrily, combined with eerie undertones fills the scene of the child sitting on the swing. These sounds are used together create an eerie atmosphere that will leave the audience tense, as the happy singing children do not match the creepy distorted pulses of sound. The non-diegetic sound used creates a parallel from the normality of the child on the swing and forebodes that our opening will breach the normality of everyday life

In order to show my understanding of the conventions and development of a thriller film I have compared my thriller opening to the film, 'Scream'. The film is about a masked antagonist that murders teenagers, mostly female victims, in the small town of Woodsboro. A similarity that can be drawn for this example is the use of iconography, i.e the mask, hiding the identity of the killer. However, unlike myself and my groups thriller opening, the film begins with the killer masked, giving no information away about the antagonist. Our thriller opening briefly features a close-up of Josh/ the antagonist’s unmasked face and a connection is made by the audience that the character is likely to be the antagonist, through the use of angry and aggressive facial expressions displayed. However, although the audience are somewhat aware of whom the antagonist is this does not hinder the effectiveness of the concealed identity. The brief image of the unmasked antagonist intensifies the question as to what the antagonist’s motives for killing are. Also the image portrays to the audience how the antagonist is likely to be extremely disturbed, as they put on the mask and adapt a new persona before inevitably killing the final female victim. As well as this, they are still left question whether this chara

cter shown was the killer, or perhaps plays a different role within the narrative.

A correlation between 'Scream' and our opening thriller is that the location of both follow the same conventional thriller approach. The words 'small town' immediately imply that the population is very limited, and if something horrific were to take place there would be not many people to immediately help, this setting for 'Scream' makes the audience aware that there isn't much escape for the characters if something bad were to take place. Our thriller opening also took place in a quiet town, desolate in people, clear for any audience that our female victims were extremely vulnerable as they would not be able to inquire help or assistance immediately, if at all. The effect of the small town setting of our thriller opening was, to make the audience feel tense as the setting provided an uncomfortable claustrophobia, as they begin to realise that the female victims have little escape. As well as this, the setting was used to further baffle the view because, within little towns mostly everyone knows everyone, this therefore implies that the killer is known or connected to the girls in some way. This unanswered question leaves the gripped, tense and wanting more of the thriller film.

Similar to 'Scream' a prevalent theme of low key lighting is used. For example, when the scene is set at an open air movie theatre, and as the film projects on to the characters faces who are viewing the film in the scene, dark shadows are cast over their faces. This forebodes that an underlining darkness is amongst the characters, proving to be true when someone is murdered during the open air showing. Our opening featured also featured the use of low key lighting, highly conventional for most thriller films. The low key lighting is most prominent in our opening thriller within the chase scene in the forest. The chase scene of a thriller film is classically the most climatic scene, therefore, if the audience cannot see the action clearly, this will cause them to scrutinize every detail they can see and become completely engrossed within the film. In turn the viewer will become increasing tense as they wait to witness what will become of the female victim, as well as urge the opening thriller to continue, so they can see what happens next.



In addition, another key similarity between 'Scream' and myself and my groups opening thriller, could be the use of female victims. 'Scream' features many female victims, for example, Drew Barrimore's character who talks carelessly over the phone with a stranger, until she realisies that the unknown caller is in fact the killer, thus making the female to seem extremely innocent and naive. Within our opening thriller our group decided that we would take this idea and adapt it to fit in our scene, as it worked to display a typical female victim quickly and effectively. Therefore we adapted this idea so one of the female victims was talking on the phone in a drunken state, whilst the other, also drunk, desperately tries to grasp her attention, failing, leaving her to walk alone towards the antagonist on the road. As soon as the audience witness how vulnerable the females characters are and how they are both not cooperating properly with each other, this will leave the audience extremely tense and sympathetic for the characters.



A general comparison between the thriller film 'Scream' and our opening thriller film is obviously not a fair one, as we were only provided two minutes in which to present a selection of generic thriller elements and not all. However, I feel myself and my groups in depth exploration into the key thriller conventions allowed to develop a vast understanding of how they could be used effectively within our short amount of time. The main goals being to make sure we had touched upon the 3 S', shock, suspense and surprise, and personally I feel we worked to achieve most of these three with our brief opening.